Dominican Sister celebrates her 25th Jubilee among friends in Tucson

On August 27th, Sister Mary Joe Sobieck celebrated her 25th Jubilee as a Springfield Dominican Sister from Chicago at the St. Thomas Aquinas Newman Center in Tucson AZ. 

Fr. Pius Youn and Fr. John Paul celebrated the mass for Sr. Mary Joe among several other Dominican Sisters who are in the area. Following the mass was a small reception with food and music. 


Sr. Lois Paha, a Dominican Sister, was also celebrated for reaching her 60th Jubilee this year. (A special edition of Sr. Lois Paha is coming soon)

Community members, such as the folks at Casa Maria where Sr. Mary Joe volunteers, also supported her major milestone. Sr. Mary Joe developed these relationships after one year of being in Arizona. She made the mission to Tucson in hopes of learning more of the hispanic culture and to learn Spanish. 

Sr. Mary Joe and the Valenzuela Family from the Mariachi Las Aguilitas de Davis.   

"I asked to take an immersion year, because at that time and since 60% percent of the young people under 18 active in the Catholic Church are Latino. So, I wanted to know the language, because I love to engage young people. That's where the life is in the church, so I want to understand the Culture and the language."

Soon after she arrived, her plans quickly changed when the pandemic hit.

"My initial plan was to go to Mexico to really be immersed, but the pandemic put a kabosh on that. Our community leaders reached out to other community leaders and that's how I met up with Rachel and Esther, the Dominican Sisters of Peace who are both native speakers here in Tucson. So, it really fit with our community's mission of being with the marginalized and justice. So I take Spanish classes at Pima," said Sr. Mary Joe. 

She wasn't able to immerse herself in the communities as she had hoped, but fortunately her stay has since been extended. 

"I asked to stay another year because of the pandemic, so my community asked if I could get a job too. So, I'm the community liaison at Alice Vail Middle School. My job is to float and be available and be a liaison to the communities and the families. It's a public school," stated Sr. Mary Joe. 

It's not a Catholic School where you typically see a Religous Sister. However, Sr. Mary Joe says she was pleased to be just as welcomed.

"When I did my school interview I wore my habit. I said 'Could I wear it?' and they said 'Yeah, we have different religious students that are Muslim and whatever, and most of the student body is Catholic," she said. 

Sr. Mary Joe's love for the youth comes from her years of teaching. 

"I entered the Springfield Dominicans in 1993.  I was already a teacher. Then I did some teaching at the Cathedral in Springfield, Illinois. When I made my first profession in 1996, I taught third grade where I had my first mission in Aurora, Illinois. Then I went back to Duluth where I had met the Sisters and I taught at that school for seven years. I taught 5th grade, and I taught junior-high religion. Then I went back to school to get my Master's at St. John's University in Collegeville, Minnesota in Systematics Theology. Then I moved to Chicago where I taught for the last 13 years," said Sr. Mary Joe. 

Her love for the youth grew throughout the years, but it didn't start out that way.

"When I entered religious life, I said sports was my love. I loved my teammates, I loved team sports, I loved the drive to push yourself to reach your potential. You can be told God loves you all day long, but as long as you experience that it changes you. I had a great childhood, but I really felt God's love for me when I was 25, and the fire that lit in me; it blew sports right out of the water. It was like God was pouring love into me. It didn't stop, it just kept going. It was so profound that I said 'I have to give back.' Something is drawing me to this community this is where God has created me to be," she said. 

Although she entered religious life in her mid-20s, she felt the call at an early age. 

"You know, I thought about being a Sister when I was in first grade. I went to Catholic High all the way through elementary and high school but then I thought 'who does that anymore?' But when I met the Sisters in Duluth they had car trouble, they asked me for help. I was going through Morning Mass and then going right over to the school to teach. So we just got to talking. One of the sisters said 'oh yeah, you should come and visit.'"

That Sister ended up being moved to Illinois from Duluth. Sr. Mary Joe stated, "So I moved her, and that's how I got to meet the Sisters she lived with and then we went to the Mother House. So, I didn't go there with any idea of being a Sister, but when I got there I just said 'this is going to be a great experience.'" 

Sr. Mary Joe grew up in Sauk Rapids, Minnesota in a devout Catholic family. She was the youngest of 10 where she had five older brothers and four older sisters. She's the only one in her family to enter religious life and she thanks her parents for it.

"We'd say a meal prayer and then we'd always say a Hail Mary after the meal prayer and I didn't know why until I was out of college."

She later found out after her father had past the reason why. Sr. Mary Joe said her mother told her, "that was the way daddy and I were going to pray for vocations. That was our prayer; that one of you kids would either be a priest or a sister."  

After finding out about her parents' intercession, it became more apparent during her discernment to become a Dominican Sister in Springfield, Illinois. 

"When I got there it was like the Holy Spirit had kind of put me there. Actually, I felt a real presence of my dad. It's like here is where you belong," she stated. 

Now, after 25 years as a Sister, she hopes to continue to point people in the right direction. 

"Now, I'm 52-years-old; I feel we never all completely reach our potential until we reach heaven, but I feel like I've been given all these opportunities and I've had such a wonderful 25-years. Now, I want to help people reach theirs. It's about helping people in a different way, to draw people in to discover the beauty that I lived and the joy I lived. In this second half of my life I just want to be open to however God wants me to use that in that way."

For more photos of the celebration:  https://photos.app.goo.gl/qz4YNAwFNJjY7UMW7